Theatre

AN UNBOXING BALLET BEAT

September 13th, 2020

For the closing event of Tanznacht Berlin 2020, two very different female artists have been invited to combine their practices: Mmakgosi Kgabi is a voice-over artist who finds ways of embodying language and speech with her own «(Dance) Encyclopedia of the Mouth». Dasniya Baddhanasiri is a ballet dancer and choreographer who runs a dojo in Wedding in the Japanese art of Tight Bondage.

In «An Unboxing Ballet Beat», Mmakgosi Kgabi and Dasniya Baddhanasiri conduct an open, body-voice dialogue, simultaneously breaking down sentences and ballet vocabulary to create a rough working environment. By their reciprocal approach of bodily listening, they open spaces in which processes of connecting and dividing occur equally, in parallel. The audience is cordially invited to engage with this exchange and to join the artists on their journey through a space-time continuum full of surprises.

Mmakgosi Kgabi is a trained physical theatre and improvisation performer and also a performance facilitator. Her work often interrogates the premise of identity and nationalism, revisiting themes on the Black Female Body Politics and Migration.

The choreographer Dasniya Baddhanasiri researches movement from the perspective of the dancer. Her primary interest is the redefinition of body images, which she seeks within a physical and cultural spectrum ranging from Japanese bondage art to deconstructed ballet practice.

Ticket and more information here

The Männy

In June we were invited to show The Männy at Autoren(theater)tage. Because of the situation it’s now postponed to autumn. Fingers crossed that it can come to Berlin! It will be a crazy job to set up the installtion in a new space, despite our meticulous documentation of every single rope critter.

Installtion – The Männy

New years vacation, knitting and knotting this and them, developing part of the stage design for ‘The Männy’. On the left suspended a cocoon which gives birth to an adorable rope creature in the piece. The happy side of the cocoon is made of more organic material, flowers, willow cotton, beeswax and compostable left overs. The back is covered in bitumen, an oily and somewhat burned, demolished landscape.   ➿

Theatre: The Männy

Just finishing an inspiring challenge with Kevin Rittberger, Nora Khuon and Sandra Fink at Schauspiel Hannover. ‘The Männy’, created with texts and themes from Donna Haraway’s work ‘Staying with the Trouble’, amongst others.
It was intense! My brain turning to mash reading and discussing theories and highly sensitive texts with five devoted actors, and a patient team. Everybody was open to the very end. Working so detailed through and inbetween each sentence with Kevin and Nora. And, open to dive with me into the rope world, learning some shibari, and navigating my rope installation through space as if it was another play partner. A sort of rhizom, air roots, or anarchically grown dendrites.
It wasn’t my first stage design with ropes, but the first in close collaboration with the workshop and technical department of the theatre. Using thousands of meters of jute and hemp. Feels.
And also the first time using rope juxtaposed and at the same time closely intertwined with 90 minutes poetic theoretical content, and developing it over the course of the evening.
The actors did a really good job. Telling an utopia involving plantoids. A kind of cyber biological connection between plants, insects and humans. Screaming of the shrinking population to safe our planet from dying (very roughly). Or for example other systems of ‘care’.
I much enjoyed searching for scenes/images, and developing a dance sequence with the actors. Opening up the more bodily dimension to them, and working through pain, muscle memory, nerves and endorphines. And, there was also the level of finding an approach together with Kevin, and get to know his work. Sometimes rough, often new but in the end productive I find. Yea, I’ d like to continue choreographing in this way, crossing over fields!

REGIE Kevin Rittberger BÜHNE Kevin Rittberger, Dasniya Sommer KOSTÜME Sandra Fink CHOREOGRAFIE Dasniya Sommer DRAMATURGIE Nora Khuon

Fabian Felix Dott Tabitha Frehner Anja Herden Torben Kessler Alban Mondschein

Big thanks to Vanessa Scarra and the supportive technical team of Ballhof 2!

Premier: February 21st, 2020
More dates: 3 + 19 + 29 März

Marat / Sade – Monstertruck

Wiederaufnahme am 12 + 13.11.2019 beim No Limits Festival jeweils 19 Uhr im Hau1.

Die Französische Revolution war ein Aufstand in Frankreich.
Vor über 200 Jahren.
Von 1789 bis 1799.

Das Stück spielt kurze Zeit später.
In einem Irren-Haus.
Marquis de Sade ist dort Patient.
Zusammen mit den anderen Patienten und Patientinnen spielt er Theater.
Sie spielen Szenen aus der französischen Revolution.

Das Theater-Stück wird von der Gruppe Monster Truck auf die Bühne gebracht.
Aber Peter Weiss hat das Stück geschrieben.
Sonst spielt die Gruppe Monster Truck nur eigene Stücke.

Außerdem spielen Menschen mit Lern-Schwierigkeiten in dem Stück mit.
Sie kommen aus Bochum.
Viele von ihnen spielen in ihrer Freizeit Theater.
Aber sie sind keine Profis.
Theater-Spielen ist nicht ihr Beruf.

Monster Truck interessiert:
Wer macht Revolution?
Wer wehrt sich?
Und gegen was?
Was würde passieren, wenn Menschen mit Behinderung eine Revolution machen?
Würde es danach eine bessere Gesellschaft geben?
Oder nur den ganzen Tag Wohnheim-Party?
Wäre den ganzen Tag Behinderten-Disco auch eine bessere Welt?

Von und mit Daniel Beisbart, Jörg Eiben, Rolf Fey, Manuel Gerst, Alexandra Kamulski, Ralf Kons, Roswitha Kons, Anne Nilson, Sahar Rahimi, Lino Reifferscheidt, Nicole Schnippenkötter, Sabine Schrader, Mark Schröppel, Sandra Siewert, Dasniya Sommer, Renate Stahl, Andreas Stebner, Lukas von der Lühe Regie, Bühne, Kostüme Monster Truck Dramaturgie Tobias Staab Theaterleitung der Lebenshilfe Ulrike Schweinitz Betreuung Cornelia Barke Produktionsleitung ehrliche arbeit Koproduktion Schauspielhaus Bochum und NTGentIn Zusammenarbeit mit Lebenshilfe Bochum e.V. Mit Unterstützung der Psychiatrischen Klinik Bochum-Ehrenfeld Gefördert im Fonds Doppelpass der „LOGO” durch die Kulturstiftung des Bundes

PERFORMANCE: BLUME BLUME

A quick invitation, if you are in Berlin come by tonight and see our performance ‘blume blume’ at Eurix-Holzmarkt.
Yesterday was fleshy fun! :)

24+25 Oktober. Doors open at 7pm, shows start at 8pm, we are on around 9pm.
More info here

Holzmarktstrasse 25 – Säalchen, shows start at 8pm, doors open at 7pm.
Premiere: with Fisherman, 2nd show with Fel in ropes.

blume, blume

maskuline muskelblumen

blutlarven

blütenblut und wutrinde

seilwinde

seerosenhimmel

gletscherseele

waldschmelze

mytrambienstürme Vortexschluchten

plasmaozean

staubstummel, laubstücke, blütenstaub
wurzelriesen
plantoiden

glauglommel

symchtonisches Zaudern

stille im wald

 

24. October tying with Flo Blondie

is working with foam puppets and dance , theatre and signs
with animals and objects. Worked a lot with other-abled people.
Also Puppetmaker theatres and sometimes film.

25. October tying with Fel

Since about one year Fel attends the Shibari classes in Haus Sommer.
And inspite of his bodysize of 1. 95 meter hight ( and 85 kg weight) the sunnyboy prooved to be surprisingly talented for suspension as a model.
The reason may be in his yoga or surf background or in his other activities which compose his phisicality or in his positiv spirit.
So he made the step from the classes within a single year to the stage and he was nominated from Haus Sommer for this performance.

10 meter in den wilden westen

Fond memories of Dennis Seidel’s / Meine Damen und Herren  western drama 10 Meter in den Wilden Westen early this year. A bunch of cowgirls, Nscho-tschi and a mare living in Dawsons Creek. Revenching my dead fam, and helping me hunt down this sneaky bitch Tatjana Thorns! 🤠
The rope scene didn’t make it to the final, but it was much fun to work it with Solène.
We remount the show in Mainz and Berlin this autumn.
Photos: Simone Scardovelli